Aux to iPod dock Connector..PLEASE HELP!

macrumors 68000

I have a few iPods including a 4G iPod that I desperately want to use in my truck. My panisonic stereo has an auxilary input...I need to know where I can buy a cable to connect my iPod to my Auxiliary input. It should be a simple cable that would plug into the back of my head unit and also plug into the dock connector or my 4G. I have been trying to research this, but everything I am finding is not what I am needing. I dont need any kind of interface I would just want to control and play the songs directly for the iPod itself. I would also like it to keep the iPod charged. That would be sweet.

If anyone knows where I can buy this type of cable, or if anyone has one let me know. Post a link to a website or tell me a specific store to buy this. Thanks so much in advance.

macrumors 65816

I've never heard of anything that has auxiliary connections coming off of a dock connector. Unless there's something that has power and audio coming out of the dock connector, it would much simpler and cheaper to get an auxiliary/RCA to 1/8". It's only $8-10 dollars and you could plug any device with a headphone jack in easily.

thread startermacrumors 68000

I've never heard of anything that has auxiliary connections coming off of a dock connector. Unless there's something that has power and audio coming out of the dock connector, it would much simpler and cheaper to get an auxiliary/RCA to 1/8". It's only $8-10 dollars and you could plug any device with a headphone jack in easily.

So basically my iPod will play perfectly with something like this through my stereo?

I was jost hoping that there was some kind of cable that had auxiliary on one end and a plug to go into the bottom of an iPod on another, so it could keep it charged at the same time. That would be sweet.

macrumors Core

your head unit won't be able to power your iPod, you'll need that plugged in via the cig lighter or some such too. but a RCA to mini headphone jack will work for playing. if you want it to charge too, buy a changer that has a line out on it as well.

Moderator emeritus

Yes -- the only problem with using the 1/8" cable is that the iPod doesn't output line level through the headphone jack. So you will need to compensate by turning the radio up louder than usual (by several notches... probably about 40% higher than normal). And make sure to turn it back down when you switch sources. But I did this for a long time in my previous car.

macrumors Core

Thanks for the good ideas posted here...Ill just do a bit more research and figure out what to do. If anyone else has any more ideas, let me know. Thanks again!

Click to expand...

by the by, while i was at CompUSA the other day i saw a RCA to dock connector, but it didn't charge, i just remembered about it...
so there is a cable out there like this, but it just connects differently and has no other practical use because it doesn't charge too.

macrumors 6502a

If your aux port is a headphone jack, get a minijack to minijack cable. You can also plug it from the speaker jack on your computer to the microphone jack and 'DJ' for your friends on IM with audio chat.

thread startermacrumors 68000

by the by, while i was at CompUSA the other day i saw a RCA to dock connector, but it didn't charge, i just remembered about it...
so there is a cable out there like this, but it just connects differently and has no other practical use because it doesn't charge too.

macrumors newbie

It seems we have two discussions mixe up here. One is getting a Dock Connection to Aux Input (3.5 mm stereo headphone connector), and the other is a Dock Connection to RCA, which are obviously two completely different challenges.

The first is to be able to get your car audio input, like a BMW input, to play from the Dock Connection instead of the Headphone Output Connection. Why would you want to do this? Because if you go through the Headphone Output, you have two downsides. The first and annoying issue is that the Volume Control of the iPod is a factor, and if you have the iPod turned up too loud it can distort the sound, and if it's too low, you have to turn the car stereo volume up way too high and if you switch to CD or AM/FM, it'll blast your speakers. By using the Dock Connection, the ONLY volume level is from the Car Stereo, which is super-convenient. I currently use a Dock Connection to Cassette Deck adapter, and this works awesome.

The more important reason to use the Dock Connection, however, is that when you turn the car off, if you're plugged in using the Dock Connection, it senses that there is no draw on the iPod and it pauses play. After a few minutes, it automatically shuts the iPod off, conserving battery power. If you're using the Headphone Output on the iPod, it does NOT automatically pause (unless you disconnect the cord from the iPod), and it will continue to run until the Playlist (or Album or Song list) ends, and if you have it set to Repeat, it will never shut off until the battery dies. To me, this is a critical reason to connect through the docking station.

My girlfriend's BMW has the Aux Input in the console between the seats, and I've been looking for a way to charge the iPod while using the Dock Connection, and I have yet to find a single device that does this. Shasta's post, however, solves the issue, although I don't think Shasta provided a good second link. Shasta's first link:http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-usb.html
Is the key to the whole thing. It's a tiny device that hooks into the Dock Connection and has an output for a 3.5 mm stereo jack (just like the output that for the headphones on the top), but it will sense when the car is turned off, shutting down the iPod (sweet!) Shasta's second link, however, is to a cigarette lighter adapter to a standard USB 2.0 connector, but the PocketDock uses the less popular, more boxy looking USB connection. The end is called a USB B (as opposed to the flatter, more prevalent USB A end). I'm sure there are adapters out there that will convert A to B or there might be Car Chargers that use the USB B end type, but that's what you need to plug into the PocketDock.

By the way, the other solution that Mammouth found will work for those that are looking to use RCA jacks instead of the Aux In found in the BMWs and the like, but that is a different problem to solve.

thread startermacrumors 68000

It seems we have two discussions mixe up here. One is getting a Dock Connection to Aux Input (3.5 mm stereo headphone connector), and the other is a Dock Connection to RCA, which are obviously two completely different challenges.

The first is to be able to get your car audio input, like a BMW input, to play from the Dock Connection instead of the Headphone Output Connection. Why would you want to do this? Because if you go through the Headphone Output, you have two downsides. The first and annoying issue is that the Volume Control of the iPod is a factor, and if you have the iPod turned up too loud it can distort the sound, and if it's too low, you have to turn the car stereo volume up way too high and if you switch to CD or AM/FM, it'll blast your speakers. By using the Dock Connection, the ONLY volume level is from the Car Stereo, which is super-convenient. I currently use a Dock Connection to Cassette Deck adapter, and this works awesome.

The more important reason to use the Dock Connection, however, is that when you turn the car off, if you're plugged in using the Dock Connection, it senses that there is no draw on the iPod and it pauses play. After a few minutes, it automatically shuts the iPod off, conserving battery power. If you're using the Headphone Output on the iPod, it does NOT automatically pause (unless you disconnect the cord from the iPod), and it will continue to run until the Playlist (or Album or Song list) ends, and if you have it set to Repeat, it will never shut off until the battery dies. To me, this is a critical reason to connect through the docking station.

My girlfriend's BMW has the Aux Input in the console between the seats, and I've been looking for a way to charge the iPod while using the Dock Connection, and I have yet to find a single device that does this. Shasta's post, however, solves the issue, although I don't think Shasta provided a good second link. Shasta's first link:http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-usb.html
Is the key to the whole thing. It's a tiny device that hooks into the Dock Connection and has an output for a 3.5 mm stereo jack (just like the output that for the headphones on the top), but it will sense when the car is turned off, shutting down the iPod (sweet!) Shasta's second link, however, is to a cigarette lighter adapter to a standard USB 2.0 connector, but the PocketDock uses the less popular, more boxy looking USB connection. The end is called a USB B (as opposed to the flatter, more prevalent USB A end). I'm sure there are adapters out there that will convert A to B or there might be Car Chargers that use the USB B end type, but that's what you need to plug into the PocketDock.

By the way, the other solution that Mammouth found will work for those that are looking to use RCA jacks instead of the Aux In found in the BMWs and the like, but that is a different problem to solve.

Cheers,

Sean

Click to expand...

Thanks Sean, I appreciate you taking the time to comment on all of these things and explain everything so clearly. Unfotunately I think I'll just end up using an FM transmitter.

EDIT: I'm sure other members on here will appreciate that great post as well. Thanks again.

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